Automotive wire harnesses for electric vehicles have become a new industry hotspot.

On March 30th, Xiaomi Group issued an announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, confirming its plan to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary to be responsible for the smart electric vehicle business. Its initial investment is 10 billion RMB, and the total investment is expected to reach 10 billion US dollars in the next 10 years. This is another technology giant announcing its entry into car manufacturing after Alibaba and Baidu. As practitioners in the cable industry, what we can see is the impact of the electric vehicle business on the wire harness industry, because wire harnesses came into being along with automobiles. In the initial state of automobiles, the structure was simple, and mechanical control was dominant. For a long period of time, people focused more on the research of automobile mechanical performance. The automobile wire harness was only regarded as a component of the whole vehicle and never received attention. The evaluation of its technical quality was only whether the circuit was connected or not. The processing technologies of automobile wire harnesses were backward ones such as manual铰接 (hinging), welding, and bolting. The reliability, interchangeability, and repairability of defects of its connectors and other parts were even worse. In the early 1980s, with the development of the machinery manufacturing industry, the crimping process was promoted to progress and mature. In particular, the advent of fully automatic crimping machines brought about a qualitative and quantitative leap in the manufacturing technology of automobile wire harnesses. The single-wire tensile strength of automobile wire harnesses was greatly improved, the mechanical performance became stable, the voltage drop at the crimping point could be effectively controlled, the loss of signals during transmission was reduced, and the reliability of the whole vehicle was multiplied. At the same time, the function of automobile wire harnesses expanded from a single power supply circuit to signal transmission. After entering the 1990s, in addition to the increasing improvement of the original instrument system, engine system, lighting system, etc., airbag systems, anti-lock braking systems, central control lock and electric window systems, anti-theft systems, electric seat systems, car audio systems, and car navigation systems appeared one after another, which greatly improved the intelligence and reliability of automobiles. In the 21st century, due to technological innovation and consumers' demand for new functions (safety, comfort, and driving experience), wire harnesses have become more complex. Some modern medium-sized vehicles contain up to 40 wire harnesses, totaling hundreds of connectors, thousands of terminals, and as many as 1,500 wires. If disassembled and placed in a continuous line, these wires would exceed 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) in length and weigh about 132 pounds (60 kilograms). In addition, there can be more than 70 kinds of special cables, such as coaxial cables, HDMI high-speed data cables, and USB cables. Wire harnesses are becoming more and more complex. The most intuitive impression can be seen from the center console panel represented by Tesla. What is the difference between electric vehicle wire harnesses and ordinary automobile wire harnesses? Among the newly listed companies in the cable industry in 2020, all have elaborated on their relationship with the electric vehicle sector. A large number of connector and cable supply chains have been listed for IPO. Is seizing a position in the capital market a watershed in industry competition? In recent years, new energy automobile technology has become popular under the promotion of national policies. Especially in the automobile field, new energy electric vehicles have been promoted by Tesla, NIO, BYD, Wuling, etc. In addition to their own advantages such as environmental protection, low carbon, and energy conservation, government departments are also fully supporting the new energy electric vehicle field. Therefore, many automobile wire harness manufacturers are now participating in it. Electric vehicle wire harnesses may become a new hotspot. What is the difference between electric vehicle wire harnesses and ordinary automobile wire harnesses? The key components of an electric vehicle depend on the wire harness. If a common fault occurs in the electric vehicle wire harness, the whole vehicle will not work properly. Tesla's patent application (US20190217794) requires that the wire harness be easy to assemble during vehicle manufacturing, and attention should be paid to the battery automatic control system on the electric vehicle. However, if a fuel vehicle has no wire harness, problems may occur in areas such as lighting and the center console, but the transmission system and brake will not be affected. The electric vehicle wire harness is the nervous system of the automobile, composed of wires and connector components of various sizes and shapes. The wire harness transmits various control and power signals between the main control unit, battery, and various components of the automobile. Assembling such cables with connectors requires a high level of technology and is the most time-consuming. It involves matching cables with appropriate connectors and fixing complex wiring structures inside the automobile. Traditionally, it is difficult for robots to install wire harnesses on the vehicle body. Therefore, in order to simplify the complex problems related to wire harnesses, various methods are being adopted to simplify the wire harness architecture and improve the functions of robots. The cable composition of electric vehicle wire harnesses has different cross-sectional designs, and wires with different cross-sections allow different currents to pass through. Generally, wires with a diameter of more than 1.5mm are usually used for battery output wire harnesses, main wire harnesses, main control system harnesses, power switches, and lithium battery pack wire harnesses. Wires with a diameter of more than 0.5mm are generally used for lighting communication systems and combination switches; wires with a diameter of more than 0.15mm are generally used for brake power-off and parking switches. The performance and indicators of electric vehicle wire harnesses are far superior to those of fuel vehicle wire harnesses, especially in terms of wire harness voltage and display system performance. The cable diameter of the high-voltage wire harness of new energy electric vehicles is much larger than that of ordinary fuel vehicle cables. The cable diameter of the high-voltage wire harness of new energy electric vehicles is much larger than that of ordinary fuel vehicle cables. The cable diameter of the high-voltage wire harness of new energy electric vehicles is much larger than that of ordinary fuel vehicle cables. According to a report by Future Market Insights, the global automotive wire harness market is expected to reach a value of 91.53 billion US dollars by 2025. The report points out that the growth of automobile sales and the increasing demand for electronic safety functions, high-end electronic products, and electric powertrains are the driving forces behind the expected growth of the wire harness industry. Growth has brought new challenges and new pressures to the industry. To support more electrical and electronic systems, some of which are very complex, wire harnesses have become increasingly complicated. Manufacturers must also adapt to all possible configurations of vehicles, which often soar to tens of millions. When manufacturing these complex systems, companies must meet very strict schedules, strict quality requirements, and minimize production costs to maintain their competitive position in the market. In order to maintain a competitive advantage and get a share of the huge market cake, not only wire harness manufacturers but also automobile manufacturers and manufacturing software service providers have put forward various solutions. Generally speaking, wire harness processing is a very mature industry. However, it is still restricted by labor and skilled workers. "Low-cost" manual processing is no longer the main factor to attract customers in today's manufacturing industry. Especially in the automobile manufacturing industry that requires a high level of consistency, more and more mechanical intervention and fewer manual links have brought efficiency, yield, consistency, and comprehensive costs to a new height. How to increase the proportion of automated production and mechanical manufacturing has become a new topic in the wire harness processing industry.